Crimson Paladin

The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel

Verius Sanctian

It wasn't the first time Verius had been to Hammerfell. Aside from all the times he had to pass through on the way to High Rock, there was a posting at Wind Scour Temple for a few months, an undercover assignment in the Syffim for a few years, a failed diplomatic expedition to Craglorn one time. He learned a few important things from that last one- Lamias do not see Tsaesci as kin, red-on-black bands do not indicate a lack of venom, and many of the same martial techniques for fighting dragons also applied to them.

None of that really mattered now- over a thousand years had passed and the Hammerfell he once knew was not quite the Hammerfell of today. For himself, blending in should be as simple as singing up in the local fighter or mercenary guild, but this group was unusual enough that sooner or later people will notice their unusual composition. Fortunately, there were a few things in their favor. For one, Sentinel was a Forebear port town, meaning that it was normal for all manner of foreign folk to come through here, and the locals. Second, "Getting away from the Thalmor" ought to be a pretty common motivation for coming to Sentinel.

During the boat ride to Sentinel, Verius had plenty of time to collect his thoughts and take notes about the rest of the Empress' retinue. The Chantry knight seemed straightforward enough- a Breton warrior of Akatosh, wanting to serve the Dragon God in a more direct way than whatever politicking was happening in High Rock. The Vigilant was a devotee of Stendarr, belonging to a younger religious order dedicated to combating Daedra. For those two, nobody would find it unusual for them to be in Sentinel.

The Altmer mage was pretty typical for his kind, and would probably have ended up in the Thalmor had the current organization not been so extreme in its dogma and overzealous in purging dissidents. He might turn some heads and inspire some distrust, but there were enough Altmer that were on the Thalmor's bad side, and from what he had gathered while getting up to speed on the Fourth Era, Sentinel had already been the site of a major incident of the Thalmor purging Altmer dissidents. If the Blades and Empress trusted him, so too would Verius. Regarding the Dunmer, Verius knew of the Telvanni and their unapologetic "might makes right" policy all too well. Fortunately, with Sentinel on the opposite end of Skyrim from Morrowind, it was unlikely that anyone would pinpoint her as a Telvanni. As long as those two mages weren't caught raising the dead or trafficking with Daedra, they ought to be able to stay under the radar.

Lastly was the Minotaur. According to some of the myths and legends of Cyrodiil, they were believed by some to be descended from Alessia and Morihaus. Whatever the truth was, they were also considered to be bestial brutes that existed entirely outside of civilized society. Then again, the same things were considered of Orcs until Potentate Savirien-Chorak brought them into the Empire. The local authorities could probably be permitted to allow him if they assumed him to be a pet or trained beast, but it might be a good idea to not have him wandering the city.

Currently, Verius was at the table, looking over a map of this corner of Hammerfell.

"I concur, Fighters Guild, or whatever passes for a mercenary guild here, would be a good start," he replied to Colcette, looking up from his map. "Solve problems, get paid, and no unnecessary questions need to be asked. In the meantime, if anyone asks, I'm nothing more than an ex-Legion soldier-of-fortune."

The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel

Back in my day, Cyrodiil actually maintained its forts

Name: Verius Sanctian, formerly Saniren-Verak

Gender: Male

Race: Akaviri (Vampire)

Appearance:

I can assure you
I'm not dodging the question
Of the Tsaesci's look

Personality: Verius is a proverbial fish out of water from a very different era. He could ramble all day about much things have changed, and has particularly a lot to complain about regarding the state of the Blades compared to the old Dragonguard. However, he's nonetheless very dedicated to his duty as a Dragonguard and is overjoyed to be able to serve a Dragonborn Emperor once again. Just don't mention the Morag Tong or Dark Brotherhood to him- in his painted eyes, both of those organizations need to die a horrible, horrible death.

Long glory was wife to the all the knights of the dragon-banner, who knew no other and were brothers before beyond many seas and now were brothers under the law named the blade-surrender of Pale Pass. And having vampire blood these brother-knights lived for ages through and past Reman and then kept guard over his ward, the coiled king, Versidue-Shaie. The snake-captain Vershu became Renald became the protector of the northern west when the black dart was hooked into Savirien-Chorak.
-Remanada

Brief Backstory: Saniren-Verak was born to an Akaviri family during the reign of Reman III, with both of his parents being members of the Dragonguard. He followed in his parents' footsteps and became a member of the Dragonguard himself. However, several years after joining the Dragonguard, Reman III was assassinated and the Dragonguard were reorganized by Versidue-Shaie. Saniren-Verak was among those chosen to continue serving the Potentate, and just as some of his colleagues did, believed that atonement for their failure to protect the Reman dynasty would require many lifetimes. It was during this time that just as Snake-Captain Vershu changed his name to Renald, Saniren-Verak changed his name to the pseudonym Verius Sanctian, drawing inspiration from the small amount of Imperial blood in his heritage.

Shortly after Savirien-Chorak and his line was wiped out, Verius was targeted by assassins while in the Reach. Wounded and outnumbered, he fled into a Nordic ruin and hid inside a sarcophagus. Unfortunately, the coffin he chose was warded against undead to ensure its inhabitant remained dormant, and the wards reacted poorly to his vampire blood, and once he closed the lid, the wards trapped him and put Verius into a deep slumber. Even more unfortunately, the sarcophagus' original occupant was still in there with him.

Contained by the sarcophagus' magic, he remained inside (along with the slumbering Draugr) until 4E 203, when one of the Forsworn now occupying the ruin pried the lid open looking for loot. Verius' first impulse was to head to the nearest river and wash the smell of Draugr out of him, and his second impulse was to take refuge in Sky Haven Temple. Unfortunately, the traditions and dress of the Dragonguard had changed slightly in the thousand or so years since, and he was immediately taken prisoner by the local Dragonguard garrison.

During his involuntary stay at Sky Haven, Verius learned just how long he had been sleeping- another Dragonborn Emperor appeared, Renald and his remaining subordinates joined him and were renamed the Blades, all of the prophecies in Alduin's Wall had come to pass, Cyrodiil was once again ruled by ordinary mortals, the Thalmor now held a massive grudge against Tiber Septim and the Blades. For his part, he spent much of his internment complaining about how the Blades had forgotten the old Akaviri magics and about all the historical errors in the 2920 book series, having a minor existential crisis about the possibility that he spent 324 years serving the culprit who wiped out Reman's line and inflicted upon the Dragonguard their greatest shame, and ranting about how serving the Dragonborn should take priority over crusading against dragons. Fortunately, when the Dragonborn visited the temple, she was willing to give Verius a chance.

Equipment: Verius wears the gilded steel armor of the old Dragonguard, along with a sword and shield. In contrast to the more Akavir-styled armor and katanas of the Blades, the Dragonguard equipment of his time is much more Cyrodiilic in design.

Skills:

If you attack us, you will meet talons.
If you strike us, you will eat spikes.
If you injure us, our wounds will close.
If you anger us, you will burn.
If you run from us, we will pounce upon you.
-To Smite with Dragon Claws

In addition to being a skilled swordsman, Verius is a disciple of the old Akaviri magical combat arts once practiced by the Dragonguard. His techniques emulate the power of dragon and manipulating fire, and include forming weapons of fire to strike foes, a fire breath that is admittedly a pale imitation of the Thu'um, and the ability to very briefly give himself elements of a dragon's physiology, be it protective scales or wings to leap great distances.

The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel

Here's my shitpost of a submission.

Back in my day, Cyrodiil actually maintained its forts

Name: Verius Sanctian, formerly Saniren-Verak

Gender: Male

Race: Akaviri (Vampire)

Appearance:

I can assure you
I'm not dodging the question
Of the Tsaesci's look

Personality: Verius is a proverbial fish out of water from a very different era. He could ramble all day about much things have changed, and has particularly a lot to complain about regarding the state of the Blades compared to the old Dragonguard. However, he's nonetheless very dedicated to his duty as a Dragonguard and is overjoyed to be able to serve a Dragonborn Emperor once again. Just don't mention the Morag Tong or Dark Brotherhood to him- in his painted eyes, both of those organizations need to die a horrible, horrible death.

Long glory was wife to the all the knights of the dragon-banner, who knew no other and were brothers before beyond many seas and now were brothers under the law named the blade-surrender of Pale Pass. And having vampire blood these brother-knights lived for ages through and past Reman and then kept guard over his ward, the coiled king, Versidue-Shaie. The snake-captain Vershu became Renald became the protector of the northern west when the black dart was hooked into Savirien-Chorak.
-Remanada

Brief Backstory: Saniren-Verak was born to an Akaviri family during the reign of Reman III, with both of his parents being members of the Dragonguard. He followed in his parents' footsteps and became a member of the Dragonguard himself. However, several years after joining the Dragonguard, Reman III was assassinated and the Dragonguard were reorganized by Versidue-Shaie. Saniren-Verak was among those chosen to continue serving the Potentate, and just as some of his colleagues did, believed that atonement for their failure to protect the Reman dynasty would require many lifetimes. It was during this time that just as Snake-Captain Vershu changed his name to Renald, Saniren-Verak changed his name to the pseudonym Verius Sanctian, drawing inspiration from the small amount of Imperial blood in his heritage.

Shortly after Savirien-Chorak and his line was wiped out, Verius was targeted by assassins while in the Reach. Wounded and outnumbered, he fled into a Nordic ruin and hid inside a sarcophagus. Unfortunately, the coffin he chose was warded against undead to ensure its inhabitant remained dormant, and the wards reacted poorly to his vampire blood, and once he closed the lid, the wards trapped him and put Verius into a deep slumber. Even more unfortunately, the sarcophagus' original occupant was still in there with him.

Contained by the sarcophagus' magic, he remained inside (along with the slumbering Draugr) until 4E 203, when one of the Forsworn now occupying the ruin pried the lid open looking for loot. Verius' first impulse was to head to the nearest river and wash the smell of Draugr out of him, and his second impulse was to take refuge in Sky Haven Temple. Unfortunately, the traditions and dress of the Dragonguard had changed slightly in the thousand or so years since, and he was immediately taken prisoner by the local Dragonguard garrison.

During his involuntary stay at Sky Haven, Verius learned just how long he had been sleeping- another Dragonborn Emperor appeared, Renald and his remaining subordinates joined him and were renamed the Blades, all of the prophecies in Alduin's Wall had come to pass, Cyrodiil was once again ruled by ordinary mortals, the Thalmor now held a massive grudge against Tiber Septim and the Blades. For his part, he spent much of his internment complaining about how the Blades had forgotten the old Akaviri magics and about all the historical errors in the 2920 book series, having a minor existential crisis about the possibility that he spent 324 years serving the culprit who wiped out Reman's line and inflicted upon the Dragonguard their greatest shame, and ranting about how serving the Dragonborn should take priority over crusading against dragons. Fortunately, when the Dragonborn visited the temple, she was willing to give Verius a chance.

Equipment: Verius wears the gilded steel armor of the old Dragonguard, along with a sword and shield. In contrast to the more Akavir-styled armor and katanas of the Blades, the Dragonguard equipment of his time is much more Cyrodiilic in design.

Skills:

If you attack us, you will meet talons.
If you strike us, you will eat spikes.
If you injure us, our wounds will close.
If you anger us, you will burn.
If you run from us, we will pounce upon you.
-To Smite with Dragon Claws

In addition to being a skilled swordsman, Verius is a disciple of the old Akaviri magical combat arts once practiced by the Dragonguard. His techniques emulate the power of dragon and manipulating fire, and include forming weapons of fire to strike foes, a fire breath that is admittedly a pale imitation of the Thu'um, and the ability to very briefly give himself elements of a dragon's physiology, be it protective scales or wings to leap great distances.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

The battle was over and the arboreal monster was felled. They weren't any closer to finding the Moonlit queen, but a serious threat to the people of Thaln had been dealt with, and the Knights could resume their search unimpeded. Renar was expressing concern about just how they'd go about doing that, however. He had a point- even with mages on their side, searching the woods was an inefficient method.

"Lady Gertrude, Lord Arken, is there anything from the remains of that serpent monster that could help direct us in the right direction?" He didn't know much about magic, but perhaps a mage might be able to glean some useful information from the creature's husk?

The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel

I'm interested

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

As the serpent's upper body bloomed, Fleuri, having been situated just behind where the base of where it split apart, was struck by the expanding wood and knocked back towards the rear of the snake. He didn't seem to be injured, but it did knock him off his feet.

Never thought I'd get backhanded by a plant, he thought to himself as he pulled himself to his feet and and realigned his helmet's eye slit. He quickly realized that the blow was a stroke of good fortune, for it had knocked the knight away from the path of the magical projectiles being expelled towards those still in front of it.

The others were striking at the front, so Fleuri would attack the rear part. He lunged forward and swung his sword horizontally into the serpent's bark skin, intent on slicing through and leaving the creature with a long gash. If the heart wasn't where he struck, he hoped that he'd at least be able to discern which direction- forward or back- the heartbeat was coming from.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

So, this thing changes as it's damaged, Fleuri noted as he evaded the biting maw created by his blow. This would make it more difficult to attack any spot twice, and meant that this monster would get more dangerous as it sustained more wounds.

According to Fanilly, the wooden serpent was animated by a heart. Even stranger was Tyaethe's assessment- the heart was moving around inside the creature. The path forward was clear to Fleuri- they needed to tear up the exterior so that the heart would have no place to hide. Even if the creature could bite and snap from every wound, the key to killing it was taking out the heart.

Fleuri heard Fionn's request to drive the snake towards him. He wasn't sure of the man's plan, but trusted in whatever it might be. Fleuri swung at the snake's wound-maw, keeping just enough distance to strike the bark with the tip of his sword. He didn't need to maim it, just to encourage i to continue snapping and lunging towards him, and in doing so, should move the entire beast bit by bit in Fionn's direction.

Fleuri was curious to see just what Fionn had in store for this thing...

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri had never seen a creature like this before. A giant serpent, formed from the very trees, bearing down upon them. Fleuri weaved to the side as it crashed towards them, only for the beast to strike a magical barrier.

He wasn't a mage, but from how the snake knocked through the first of the barriers, the magical bulwark would only likely be able to hold back one more strike. However, with the knights scattering around it, the arboreal beast no longer had reason to put all of its might behind getting past the shield. It now had targets all around.

That's how he figured it, at least. Knowing this thing's likely connection to the fae, its behavior could be utterly unlike that of a
territorial predator.

A couple of weeks ago, Fleuri would not have considered his greatsword to be an ideal weapon for taking on a beast made of wood. That was before he witnessed a tree felled by a single blow from Jeremiah, before he saw Rui generate shockwaves from the swings of her blade, before he spent time in Merilia's world training with the original Roses.

He wasn't nearly at the level of Rui or Jeremiah, of course, but he was much further along than he was back when they first set out to deal with the bandit problem. Now was the time to assess just how far.

Fleuri bolted past the neck towards where the serpent's body rested on the ground, raising his sword and bringing it down with all of his might upon the woooden abomination.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

It was somewhat of a relief to hear Arken suggest that it was possible, if negotiations didn't pan out, to muster the power to go against the Moonlit Queen, as was it to hear Tyaethe's suggestion that the goddesses could potentially get involved. This remained a very daunting task, but Fleuri would trust in the knowledge of a court mage and senior paladin.

---

As they advanced into the woods, Fleuri couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. It was normal to be apprehensive about this mission, of course, but...there was something more to it than that.

These parts of the Brennan Forest had a dark reputation. People going missing, rumors of fae and spirits, this was not a place that Fleuri would travel alone. Before this mission, Fleuri might have at least entertained the notion that the talk of fae and spirits could be superstition, and the disappearances being the handiwork of beasts, but looking at the gnarled trees, almost seeing faces upon them...if he wasn't a believer before, he definitely was now.

If there was a very slight silver lining to this, it was quite clear that Fiadh was leading them in the right direction. But if this was the way to the Moonlit Queen...just what sort of fae would they be dealing with, if this was what she surrounded herself with?

When Fanilly gave the order to form up, Fleuri was already so on edge that he drew his sword without missing a beat. He couldn't see anything specific, but if Arken's words were any indication, there was definitely something out there.

This place felt even more oppressive than the Cazt mausoleum. If Fleuri had known that it would be like this, he might have made a stop to borrow Armand's weapons again.

I wonder if he felt like this when he was setting out to face that undead knight...

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

Frankly, this conversation was becoming increasingly disheartening to Fleuri. From what he could gather, they were dealing with a fae so powerful she can generate and shape her own plane, powerful enough to drive a Duke of Thaln mad within his seat of power, and all Thaln's finest problem-solvers can hope to do is use words to convince her to undo the madness she inflicted on the Duke.

When the orcs and foreigners invaded, the Roses met them in battle and defeated them. When the traitors rose up, the Roses met them in battle and defeated them. But this...have the Roses ever before faced a foe within our own borders that could not be defeated, only placated, he wondered.

"I'm a bit concerned at the position of weakness that we'll be negotiating from." he stated. "What happens if her final answer is "no"? What happens if she doubts the kingdom of Thaln's ability to inflict upon her any manner of tangible consequences for her actions, or if she doubts our ability to offer her anything that she could not simply take by force?"

Fleuri knew very little about fae and their powers and limitations. He hoped that he was wrong, that the power of this fae queen wasn't beyond what the kingdom was capable of facing and overcoming.

"Or am I wrong?" he directed his question at Arken, "If words fail, is it within the power of the College to overcome her magic?"